A rare year, a hard question: Who are we now?

THE CHINESE CALENDAR heralds the arrival of the Fire Horse this month. It is a rare occurrence, which happens only every 60 years, the last one being in 1966. So it begs the question: Have you ever wondered where you would have stood in 1966 during the height of the civil rights movement, when police were using water canons and batons on protestors demanding basic rights and decency?

Or where you would have stood during the ramp up to the Viet Nam War, which increased the draft, sending over 400,000 American boys to fight and die for a war that was profoundly misguided. Many would now say our involvement was rooted in fear, flawed assumptions and a refusal to question our strategy that was costing lives without achieving the goals we claimed to be fighting for.

In 2026 you’ll have a chance to find out where you stand on similar issues today, and it will matter – to your neighbors, your community and the country.

This past weekend, thousands took to the streets in cities across the nation to protest ICE actions and the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti. People walked out of schools, closed their shops and picketed because something fundamental is being tested in our country: Federal government overreach into state’s rights and overzealous police actions against immigrants and citizens alike.

What stood out most to me from reports out of Minnesota and elsewhere wasn’t just the scale of the protests – it was the solidarity. Ordinary residents were checking in on their neighbors, supporting vulnerable families and watching over one another. They demonstrated that community becomes real only when ordinary people decide that silence is no longer an option, and that acts of courage on behalf of one another are what hold us together even in the hardest times.

Would we be so brave and come together like Minnesotans have done?

Of course, standing up doesn’t always mean marching in front of a statehouse or lining the streets. It can mean making space for conversations we’d rather not have. It can mean listening to those who feel unsafe, questioning systems that cause harm, speaking up and documenting abuse by officials.

We have always prided ourselves on neighborliness in our communities. We rally for each other after fires, floods and storms. We deliver meals, hold fundraisers, clear debris and check on the folks up the road. That same instinct – the one that says “we take care of each other” – is what will matter most as we navigate the year ahead.

What this weekend asked of America, it also asks of us: Where will you stand if what is happening in Minnesota happens here?